


Here’s to us

by Creativitydeficient



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Drunk flirting, F/M, Uses/mentions of alcohol, gabenath mini bang, gabenath mini bang 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:53:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24440899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Creativitydeficient/pseuds/Creativitydeficient
Summary: After another unfortunate defeat from Ladybug and Chat Noir, Paris’s two supervillains are now finding themselves overcome with more dread than ever, Hawkmoth especially. So, in an attempt to cheer the broken down man up, Mayura recalls back to a night where she was feeling particularly worn out, and was able to calm herself down a bit by heading up to the Eiffel Tower, bottle of champagne in hand, and looking over the view. Now, determined to get his mind off of things, she makes the offer of doing the same for him, leading to all sorts of things, such as emotional confessions, laughs, and even some dancing.Based on the song “Here’s to us.” By Halestorm!
Relationships: Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth/Nathalie Sancoeur
Comments: 35
Kudos: 73
Collections: GabeNath Mini Bang 2020





	Here’s to us

**Author's Note:**

> Work I created for the Gabenath minibang!  
> I’m relatively new to writing so, I hope you guys like it!  
> Link to the art can be found [Here](https://creativitydeficient.tumblr.com/post/619465685754626048/heres-to-us)

The lights on the roofs of Paris shone brightly in the night sky, each one glimmering off of each other and forming together to create beautiful reflections that brought so much more liveliness to the city.

Mayura stood on one of the top floors of the Eiffel Tower, taking in the view. They had just been defeated by the heroes once again, and she knew she couldn’t let it get to her. She had to stay strong.

For Gabriel.

So, taking a deep breath, she focused on the blinding light of the city, and took in the moonlight that engulfed them as well, letting herself calm down.

She usually did have a better grip on handling these losses than her partner, after all, it WAS his wife they were trying to get back but, at the same time, it saddened her as well. She couldn’t bear to see the man she was so in love with suffer more and more every day. He was losing himself, and she knew that. 

Not to mention his son, Adrien. 

She felt for the boy, she really did. This kid had just lost his mother, and his father wasn’t exactly the most involved in his life, and while she knew the man cared for his son, his focus a lot of the time tended to be on getting his wife back. She tried to do whatever she could to push them together, and a lot of the time, it worked. She’s even noticed Gabriel slowly getting better even without her help.

But they still weren’t quite there yet, and there was only so much she could do.

She didn’t want to intrude too much on things, so she usually just kept her distance. After a while though, it was too much to bear, so she found herself making suggestions and attempting to get her boss out of his head a bit more, and most of the time, he listened.

She supposed it was most likely due to that fact that he knew, deep down, he should be there for his son more, he just never knew how, and hearing the opinion from someone he trusted opened up his eyes a bit more.

Even still, she never felt it was her place, and also felt like Gabriel needed to start figuring things out on his own. As much as she loved him, and as much as she cared for Adrien, she knew that in order to really repair their relationship, they needed to figure things out on their own.

But it was all so much sometimes. She couldn’t stand to see all the suffering, and each loss she and Hawkmoth faced certainly didn’t help.

She just wanted it all to be over.

  
  


But again, letting it get to her wasn’t going to help. She already knew how much Gabriel was suffering because of all of this. She couldn’t bear to think about how he would feel if he knew she was giving up as well. She had to be there for him.

And so, here she was, the moon illuminating the sky while the street lights lit up the pathways and buildings down below, the view of it all looking quite incredible from where Mayura stood on the Eiffel Tower. 

She turned to her partner, who just stood there silently, gaze focused on the ground, and eyes dark. To most, his expression would be unreadable, but she knew him better. He had his cane clutched in his hand, wind blowing silently in the background, and she saw a hint of emotion in his eyes that told her that his stoic expression was only one to mask the pain.

She tried offering him a smile, one she hoped would make him smile too, but it didn’t. He just continued to stare at the ground, refusing to look her in the eye. She sighed, her smile turning back into a frown, and expression becoming pained.

She longed to do something, ANYTHING, to make him happy again, but she knew the only way to do that was to get Emilie back, and they have yet to do that. 

Then, she remembered something. A while back, she was feeling a lot more stressed out than she normally was. All the pressure of trying to keep positive and take care of this broken family and risk herself each day for the man she loved only for it to eventually lead up to him being with another woman was really getting to her. Gabriel must’ve realized how stressed out she seemed, because he told her to go home early that night, and after a bit of refusal at first, she did.

It was still around winter at the time, so it was quite dark out, even though it was still pretty early, and she decided that it would be the perfect time to unwind a bit. So, with the peacock miraculous in tow, she transformed into Mayura and headed up to the top of the Eiffel Tower, stealing a bottle of Champagne and a couple of glasses from the bar at the top, and settled down at the second highest point, the top floor, save for the very tip, to be precise, hoping that a nice drink and the view would calm her down a bit.

And, it worked.

Temporarily, sure, but it was still more than enough.

She knew that a simple drink and overlooking the view wasn’t going to be nearly enough to completely wash away all the pain and hardship the two of them endured during all their endeavors but-

Wasn’t it worth a try? Even if it was only temporary?

So she headed over to the corner, where she had hid a cooler full of glasses and an extra bottle in case she ever needed some “me time” again.

She kneeled down, moving camouflage she had hid the container with out of the way and pulling the cooler closer to her so she could open it, and sure enough, everything was still there.

Perfect.

“We should probably head home.” Hawkmoth finally spoke, sounding defeated. “It’s getting late.”

Just as he was about to head down, she stood up, hurrying over to where he stood, and held out an arm in front of his chest, blocking his path. 

“Wait!” She called out, causing him to turn towards her in confusion.

“Is something wrong?” He asked, puzzled. 

“Oh, no, nothing’s wrong!” She waved her hands and shook her head to emphasize her point. “It’s just-“ she paused. “We don’t have to leave yet, I mean, just look at it.” 

She grabbed his arm and gently turned him towards the view of the city, light twinkling brightly in the night sky. 

But what she saw as beautiful, he just saw as a cruel reminder of the loss they had just faced, the peacefulness of the city practically mocking him.

“What about it?” He asked, deadpan, expression reverting back to that stoic, nearly emotionless one that he had on before. 

But she only smiled in response.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” She asked, as she turned to look at it along with him.

Hawkmoth observed the scenery before him quietly for a moment, before sighing and giving in.

“Yes, I suppose it is quite inspiring.” He admitted. “But how does that-“ he attempted to add, but was stopped.

“Hold on, I have a surprise-“ Mayura interrupted. Hawkmoth cocked an eyebrow in confusion as his partner headed over to the corner of the tower, opening up what appeared to be a cooler, and speaking as she did so.

“Do you remember that day I felt particularly bad and you let me go home early?” She asked, turning to face him. “Of course.” He nodded, expression still not breaking, but becoming a bit gentler. “Well-“ she continued. “that night, I figured seeing the view and enjoying a couple of drinks would make me feel better.” 

She then pulled out the bottle of champagne and two of the glasses that she had kept hidden inside of the cooler, causing the other’s face to change into one of surprise as she turned towards him and held up the objects, a calming smile on her face. 

Standing up, she headed over to him, holding out one of the glasses for him to take, that gentle smile still on her face. When he hesitated, she became somber, gaze turning towards the ground. 

“Look.” She spoke, in a tone that told him that she took all of this seriously. “I know this isn’t going to just make all of our troubles disappear, but as long as we’re out here, and the night is still young, we might as well enjoy it.” She looked back up at him, putting a hand on his shoulder as his gaze met hers. “Forget about those heroes, forget about the miraculouses!” She grew determined. “Let’s just...” she paused once more, tone calming down once again and growing all the bit more desperate “pretend everything is okay for a while, even if it’s not. Don’t you think we deserve at least a little break?” 

Hawkmoth stared at her for a couple of seconds, face still one of surprise, before his gaze moved down to the glass in her hand. She offered him another, more forced smile, one that clearly showed pain, holding the glass towards him a bit more. 

And finally, just as she was about to give up, he smiled. 

“How could I say no to you?” He spoke gently, a genuine smile returning on the villainess’s face when he did, becoming overcome with a wave of relief. 

It actually worked. 

Giving a small hum, she handed over the glass, which he took, and began to fiddle with the bottle and the edge of her fan in an attempt to open it, when Hawkmoth stopped her. 

“Try this.” He suggested, holding out his cane towards her. She smiled, knowing exactly what he was referring to, and took the cane in her hand, before allowing him to pull off the bottom part of it, revealing what looked to be the blade of a sword. 

Holding out the bottle in front of her with the blade in position, she swung the sharp edge towards the top of the bottle, causing it to fly open, spraying everywhere, the two of them jumping back in surprise when it did.

As soon as it calmed down a bit, the two villains smiled at each other, and proceeded to pour themselves both a glass each, Mayura, as she was the one holding the bottle, pouring hers first, and then handing it over to Hawkmoth, who poured one for himself before putting the bottle down besides him.

“Here’s to the future.” Mayura proposed, raising up her glass slightly in the air. “All the times we’ve messed up, all the times we will mess up.” She spoke, putting extra emphasis on the “will”.

Hawkmoth had to scoff at that, small smile on his face.

She continued. “May we overcome any challenge we’re faced with-” Her eyes quickly became dark, as she smiled mischievously. “And for whatever those heroes try to throw at us, let a wave of sorrow and destruction hit them in return! If they think they can best us forever, they’re sorely mistaken.” She clenched her fist, determination overcoming her “So let’s give them h*ll, and finally seize those miraculouses once and for all!” 

Calming down from her high a bit, she took a breath and closed her eyes, not even noticing her partner staring at her in awe.

“Here’s...” She began, eyes still closed. Opening them, she finished with “to us.” looking up at the man before her and giving him a soft smile, which he almost instantly returned. 

“To us.” He repeated, giving a small nod and raising his glass to the level of hers.

And, with that, the glasses they held joined together with a small clink, sealing away their vows of hope. 

-

The two of them stood in silence, enjoying their drinks and the peace and quiet around them, nothing but noise from the light wind that blew swiftly and the occasional sound from down below, like a car passing by.

But it didn’t bother them.

In fact, they barely seemed to notice, only paying attention to the view and the person next to them.

The quiet was nice, too. It was so rare the two got to relax. With defeat after defeat, they never really had any time to ease up. It got tiring after a while. 

Soon the silence became too much, however. Unbearable, even. Mayura turned back to her partner, who was back to having that troubled look on his face, causing her own expression to change to one of concern. She was worried that she hadn’t been able to help him as much as she would’ve liked. Once again, she knew it wasn’t going to take all the pain away, but she thought, or at least hoped, that taking his mind off of everything for a bit would help at least somewhat, but it seemed like it hadn’t. 

After a bit more analysis however. She noticed that this expression was different from the one before. Still troubled, sure, but less in a “we just got defeated” kind of way, and more of a “I have something on my mind.” kind of way, appearing as if he were lost in thought over something. 

“Is everything okay?” She asked, finally breaking the silence. This seemed to startle him a bit as he jumped as soon as she said that, snapping out of his trance. He looked over to her in surprise, calming down once she put both hands on his arm. 

“Hey, it’s only me.” She assured him, but now even more worried. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, apologies.” He nodded, turning back around to face the city. “I was just-“ he paused, almost as if he was trying to find the right word to use. “Thinking.” 

“About?” She asked, walking over to face the front of him. 

He opened his mouth as if he were about to speak, but quickly shook it off. “Nothing, it’s not important.” He dismissed it, but she wasn’t buying it, she knew him too well to know that it wasn’t “nothing”. “I know it’s something, Gabriel.” She spoke, using his real name, something she rarely did when they were transformed, or even in general, so this of course took him by surprise. “Something is bothering you.“

He stared down at the ground, expression becoming somber. “Did your miraculous tell you that?” 

She stared at him, growing serious. “I don’t need a miraculous to know that something is wrong.” She stated firmly. Her firm stare soon changed into a warm smile however, as she placed a hand upon his cheek. “I won’t force you to say anything if you don’t want to, but it might help if you talk about it.”

With a defeated sigh, he placed his own hand over the hand Mayura kept on his cheek, leaning into it. He stayed like that for a few seconds, before interlocking their fingers together and looking her in the eye. “Answer me honestly, Nathalie.” He turned towards the city once again. “Am I really making the right choice?” 

Mayura, caught by surprise, shook her head, not really knowing what answer to give exactly, for she wasn’t really sure herself. “I don’t think I’m really the right person to ask that-“ she started, only to be cut off. “Please, you’re the only person I can ask this.” He pleaded, turning back to face her. Seeing how troubled he seemed, she let him continue. 

“It seems as if no matter what we try, it always ends in failure.” He went on. “And between you and Adrien, well I-“ He slumped his shoulders, looking defeated. “I just don’t know what to do anymore.”

Mayura truly didn’t know how to respond. She wasn’t expecting to be hit with such a question. Truth is, she didn’t know herself. Deep down, she knew that telling him to pursue a new path would’ve been the best choice, but there was a chance he wouldn’t be happy, and she promised herself that she would help him find that happiness again, no matter what. She feared that, by giving up, he wouldn’t be able to.

But, on the other hand, there was a chance that he WOULD find new happiness, in the family he had left. A chance that he could start over, and a chance that SHE could start over. It was probably selfish but, part of her longed to believe they could start over...together. 

But she knew that wasn’t going to happen, Emilie in the picture or not, she wasn’t about to get her hopes up.

She must’ve take too long to answer, because next thing she knew, Hawkmoth’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to dump all of that in you.” He apologized. “I told you it was nothing.”

She shook her head. “Oh, no!” She quickly protested, not wanting him to get the wrong idea. “You didn’t do anything wrong, I just-“ She took a breath. “I can’t tell you what to do, you have to decide that for yourself.” 

Walking up to the edge of the tower, he leaned over the railing, gripping onto it and hanging his head down. “But what if I CAN’T decide?” He questioned. “What if, no matter how much it burdens me, and how much it won’t leave my mind no matter what I do, I still CAN’T make a decision?”

He buried his head in his hands. 

“I can’t bear to see you get hurt on my account anymore, Mayura. Adrien either. But...

I can’t give her up. I miss her. Please, tell me what I should do. You always know what to do.” He pleaded with her. 

Mayura’s heart dropped. He sounded so broken. Oh how she wished she could help him. 

“I’m so sorry, Gabriel.” 

And that was all she had to say, he knew exactly what she meant by that, and with a broken sigh, his grip on the tower became tighter, and he closed his eyes tightly, pushing back any tears that threatened to fall. 

She walked over to him, placing a hand on his back, making rubbing motions in order to hopefully calm him down. She looked up at the sky again, what was once a beautiful ebony canvas filled with shining speckles was now a blurred blob, caused by the tears forming in her own eyes. She tried to blink them away, but they just kept coming.

How did this happen?

This was supposed to be a nice, relaxing evening, one that was supposed to help them, not make them feel worse. 

This was all her fault. 

Succumbing to the sorrow she felt, she let out a shaky breath, burying her head into his shoulder. She only stayed like that for a few seconds however, before she felt the cool air on her forehead replace the warmth of his jacket, and immediately after, a warm, gloved hand in replacement of it. 

She glanced upwards, only to see the man before her staring at her with concern. 

Oh no. She thought. 

She made herself too obvious.

“Mayura...” He began, voice full of worry. His focus was completely on her now. Normally, this was the part where she would argue that everything was okay, but she didn’t have it in her anymore. “I’m sorry, this is all my fault.” She confessed. 

“I should have never suggested we stay out here, come on, let’s just-“ she turned around to leave, but was halted by a hand on her arm, pulling her back. 

“No.” Hawkmoth started. “This isn’t your fault. You were right in fact.” 

He looked back at the city for what felt like the fifteenth time. 

“I needed this.” 

They stood for another few seconds of silence, before Mayura, with a small smile, made another one of her encouraging speeches. The ones that Hawkmoth depended on so much to keep himself going.

“You’re right.” She admitted. “Change...can be scary.” 

It was true, she was all too familiar with the feeling.

“One day everything is going fine. You’re just living your life to your best ability, not expecting anything else in it but what you currently have. Then, next thing you know, everything is different. All of your constants are gone, and you’re stuck in a perpetual loop of wondering whether or not you could ever go back…” 

She trailed off. She was speaking from experience and she knew it. He must’ve noticed as well, because that concerned expression formed on his face again, so she quickly continued. 

“But, then you eventually come to realize that change... is inevitable. Even if you don’t notice it, nothing ever stays the same. And we can either run from it, or, we can accept it.” She paused once again in order to think a bit. 

“Nothing lasts forever.”

The duo stood for a second, taking in the words that were just spoken. 

“Look-“ Mayura began again, tone now more clear and determined as she looked her partner firmly in the eye. “I don’t know what's going to happen in the future. A lot of things have changed, for both of us. But if there’s one thing that will always stay the same-” she smiled up at him, eyes sparkling. “Is how much of all of this I am willing to go through with you. If you ever need a constant in your life, I will gladly be that for you.” 

She placed a hand over his heart. 

“After all, we’ve stuck it out this far together, haven’t we?” 

With a smile that matched the warmth and appreciation of her own, Hawkmoth put his own hand over the one she kept on his chest, and simply spoke the words: 

“Thank you.”’

After a few seconds, he shook his head, and headed over to the neatly placed bottle and glasses that stood in the middle of the two of them, perfectly aligned. “Enough of this now.” He stated, picking up the bottle in his hand. “You had us stay out here to relax and enjoy the scenery, _not_ for me to ruin that with my anguish.” 

She began to protest, but he cut her off.

“None of that.” He popped off the top of the bottle, which was now loosened from the previous use, before bending down once again to pick up the two glasses, keeping one for herself and handing over the other to her. 

“Now.” He stood up. “With that being said, let’s enjoy the rest of this lovely evening together, shall we?”

Without any further hesitation, Mayura accepted the glass that he held out to her, holding the stem of it firmly, but gently, between her fingers, and allowing him to fill up her glass. Pouring one for himself too, he then bent down for the last time in order to put the bottle back in its place, and after standing back up, raised his glass up in the air. 

“To us, right?” He offered, giving her another smile. 

“To us.” She repeated. 

And, for the second time that night, the two of them clinked together their glasses, a small amount of each liquid spilling out of each glass and splashing onto the ground from the sheer force of it, as they attempted to start the night over once again.

-

After about half an hour, and perhaps a few more drinks, the pair found themselves in a _MUCH_ better mood, emphasis on the “much”. 

With about half the bottle gone between the two of them, it was pretty safe to say that they were... _slightly_ tipsy at this point. 

Echoes of laughter filled up the Parisian air as both villains, now sat at a table that they “borrowed” from a lower level restaurant, recounted some of their battles with Ladybug and Chat Noir. While the heroes may have usually gotten the upper hand in the end, there were certainly times the heroes weren’t exactly the epitomes of grace and heroism.

And _boy_ did it never fail to make them laugh. 

“Ah-” Hawkmoth continued their conversation, wiping away a tear that had formed in his eye from laughing too hard. “And I’ll never forget the time where, after I akumatized that weatherman by giving him the power to make any type of weather he predicted come true, Chat Noir-” 

“Wait, hold on-” Mayura stopped him, attempting to hold in more laughter. “Do you mean when he got drenched in the rain?” 

“Precisely!” The man affirmed. “Though, as funny as that was alone, I’m more so referring to _your_ comedic timing.” He praised the woman before him, of course referring to Mayura choosing to make her presence that day known directly after Chat had asked “can this day get any worse?”

Having to remain serious and focused on the task at hand that particular day, Hawkmoth stood as stoic as he could that day, but even he couldn’t hold it in completely, and allowed a small, amused smile to crack his expression.

Of course, Mayura got quite the kick out of it as well.

“Oh, yes!” She exclaimed. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him jump so high.” She fondly recalled, a wicked smile grazing her features. 

“Hmpph.” Hawkmoth crossed arms, leaning back on the rail with a cocky grin. “And here I thought cats always landed on their feet.”

The two lost it after that, both doubling over as a fit of laughter overtook them. 

“Good times.” Hawkmoth sighed once the laughter died down a bit, followed by a simple “indeed” from Mayura. 

They must’ve killed at least another 20 minutes or so recalling tales of failure for their enemies, cracking up at each one. 

It made them feel a lot better, it really did, knowing that Paris’s supposed almighty superheroes were nothing but a bunch of clumsy, bumbling teenagers under the mask.

Hawkmoth’s laughter stopped abruptly all of a sudden as he then realized just what exactly that meant.

_Cat Noir and Ladybug were nothing but two kids._

_And they still managed to beat them every time._

Well, THAT was certainly a damper on the old confidence. 

He mentally shook his head.

_No!_ He scolded himself, get frustrated. 

He was NOT going to let more negative thoughts ruin their night once again.

He looked towards his partner, who waved her drink in her hand as she passionately spoke about, well, _something_ , but he was so lost in his own thoughts that her words just became fuzzy to him. 

But there was one thing he did catch on to.

She looked so happy.

So happy to see _him_ happy. 

And, he supposed he _was_ happy, at least somewhat, especially being out here with her.

He wasn’t going to let his negativity ruin that _._

He wasn’t going to let it ruin _hers._

After all, he already did that once tonight. And she deserved so much more than that. 

So, pushing the thoughts aside, he turned back towards her, only to see that she was now staring at him expectantly, as if she was waiting for an answer to something. 

“So?” She asked. “What do you think?”

“Huh?” He asked, blinking a couple of times. “Sorry, I must have zoned out for a bit.” 

“Are you alright?” She asked, now looking at him with concern.

“Of course.” He lied, not wanting to worry her, as well as hoping he did a good enough job of making himself seem convincing as to not have her see through him. 

After all, she has proven herself to be pretty good at that. Miraculous or not. 

But it seems like he wasn’t convincing enough.

“You can’t lie to me, you know.” She reminded him, cocking an eyebrow. She already called him out on his bluff once tonight, and she wasn’t afraid to do it again. 

“Hmph, I was hoping I could.” He huffed out, tone amused. “I guess I should’ve figured otherwise, huh?” 

She smiled at him, an almost flirty smile, as her eyelids drooped. “You really should’ve.” She teased. 

“Now, tell me what’s wrong.” She added again. “It might make you feel better if you talk about it.”

She put a hand out towards his, taking his fingers into her palm and caressing his knuckles with her thumb. 

He sighed, letting himself sink into the feeling. “It’s nothing, really.” He attempted again. “Just the usual, honest.” 

She knew he was speaking truthfully this time, but it still concerned her. 

“You don’t have to worry about me.” He added with a smile, in an attempt to convince her that everything was okay, but she still was fully buying it.

“Thinking about the heroes again, huh?”

There really was no getting past her. 

Seeing this, he sunk down a bit, and gave in. 

“Yes.” He admitted quietly, only letting that one simple word come out. 

Though, he quickly added onto it. “As I said, nothing new. Now come on, we’ve had enough negativity for tonight. Lets just-” he attempted to finish, picking up his drink as he did so, only for it to be forcibly removed from right out underneath his fingertips and set down, quite roughly might I add , onto the table. He looked towards Mayura in surprise, who now had a snarky, confident grin on her face. “You want to know what _I_ think?” 

“What?” He stuttered out, _very_ confused. He honestly had no idea where she was going with this.

And if she was being honest, neither did she. She supposed the few drinks she had made her slightly more confident than usual.

Not that she normally _wasn’t_ confident per se, but this certainly felt like a side of her she _wasn’t_ familiar with, and she was absolutely _relishing_ in it. 

She felt like she could do anything, felt like she could _say_ anything.

But of course, she wasn’t _so_ drunk to the point where she had no self control whatsoever.

She did, however, have something on her mind that she did want to get out.

And so, leaning over the table and looking the man in front of her straight in the eyes, she spoke.

_“F*ck_

_t h e m.”_ She let out with a snarl. 

This of course, took him by surprise.

Though, it didn’t take him long to realize he shouldn’t be _too_ surprised. 

This was Nathalie after all, and while she usually did keep her thoughts in her own head a lot of the time, he was also all too familiar with this side of her.

_And he loved it_

“Mayura!” He spoke with false shock, confused state quickly turning into an amused smile. “I’m surprised at you!” You’re not usually so-” he paused for a moment to find the right words. “Direct.” He finished off with a laugh. “I quite like it.” 

“I’m being serious!” She laughed as well, lightly pushing his chest. 

She was, and that was one of the many things he admired about her.

“I know you are, my dear.” He assured her. 

She stood up suddenly, nearly knocking over her chair in the process, and extended out a hand towards Hawkmoth, which he quickly took, letting himself be pulled up by her, both adults coming dangerously close to each other as she did so. 

But neither minded.

Mayura was the first to turn away, looking up at the sky, Hawkmoth soon following her gaze and staring up at the same two stars that she had her focus on.

He wasn’t sure if he was hallucinating or not, but they almost looked like they had color to them. Specifically, red and green. 

The two villains held onto each other, bodies pressed together and arms wrapped around one another, staring up at the sky. Hawkmoth looked back towards his partner, who immediately took notice of this, and turned back towards him, so close to each other that they could feel each other’s breath. 

“If they want to give you h*ll, well then-” she started, continuing off from what she was saying before, darkly laughing as she did so.

Breaking off the hold they had on each other, she headed over to the railing, beckoning for the man to follow, which he did. Once they got there, she hoisted herself onto the railing with a backflip, and somehow managed to balance herself on the ledge with heels on.

It’s pretty safe to say she nearly gave Hawkmoth a heart attack. 

But as soon as he saw the handle she had on it, and not to mention how sure of herself she seemed, feelings of fear and anguish were replaced with ones of admiration.

And he wasn’t just talking about in this particular instance.

With both of her fists clenched and the two stars shining brightly behind her, she finally finished her statement.

“Tell them to go f*ck themselves!”

She hopped down, Hawkmoth automatically gearing himself up to catch her, but stopping himself. After all, she was perfectly capable of what she was doing. 

Landing on both feet, she strolled up to him, firmly putting a hand to his shoulder and focusing on his eyes once again. “They may have beaten us every time, and they might as well keep beating us.” She began. “But if there’s one thing they can’t take away, it’s our determination.”

It was true. No matter how much each of them faced their defeat, no matter how many times the heroes somehow managed to evade any of their plans. They never stopped. Mayura knew how desperate Gabriel was to see his wife again, and she was desperate to help him. To see him happy again. Even through all the mistakes they have made, which, despite everything, she knew neither of them would trade away, because that’s what made them stronger, it’s what kept them _going._

“I know we can’t keep this up forever.” She confessed. “But neither can they! It’s as I said before, if they think they can win forever, they’re dead wrong. Whatever they throw at us, we’ll be there to catch it. We’re a team, just like they are, so they can’t say they have that against us anymore. And, with the peacock miraculous fixed, we’ll be stronger than ever!” 

“It’s you and me against the world.” She paused, and then smiled up at him. “Isn’t it?”

He nodded in agreement. 

“Always.” 

The two of them gazed into each other’s eyes for a moment, ignoring all surroundings and focusing only on the other. 

“Well then.” She proposed heading back over to the drinks that were left still standing on the floor. “Let’s continue our night, shall we? They may have ruined everything else for us, but we’re not going to let them ruin this moment.” 

She picked up both of the glasses that stood on the ground, hers nearly empty and his still half full, and handed his over to him. 

However, he refused, shaking both his head and waving his hands in a crossing motion simultaneously. “Oh no, I couldn’t.” He admitted. “I do believe I’m at my limit for drinks tonight.” 

She looked over to her glass, and then over to the half empty bottle. She _did_ suppose they had their fair share of champagne for the night.

“Hm, perhaps you are right.” She agreed. 

After all, she didn’t want to get anymore drunk than she already was, especially with the feelings she felt for him that she often kept under wraps.

“Well then-“ She smiled. “What do you suggest we do?” 

“Me?”

“Of course, this is your night. I suggested we stay out here because I wanted _you_ to have a good time. Besides, we already did something I suggested with the drinks, I want you to pick something now.”

He supposed she was right. She _did_ do all of this for him. 

Which was exactly why he wanted to do something for _her_ in return. She did so much to please him, so much to make sure he was happy. She was willing to give up everything just to help him finish what he started. He tried to show his appreciation in any way he could, but he didn’t know how much he could possibly thank her until it was enough. 

Well, enough for him at least.

She had always told him she didn’t mind it, and that was just another reason he _had_ to do more. Another reason why he had to make this all up to her. 

Only one problem however.

He didn’t know how.

How exactly did you compensate for all the days lost between using the damaged peacock miraculous and helping a broken down man on a mission that could easily end up with the two of them behind bars? 

He thought for a couple of moments, when the _ver_ y top of the tower caught his eye, the very point of the tower that stood up about 1000 feet in the air and looked like nothing more than a needle to the naked eye from the ground. 

He then remembered _why_ they were up here in the first place. 

Earlier that night, he had wanted to go home, let himself wallow in his own sorrow like he always did after each defeat.

But she refused to let that happen.

She refused to let him go another night feeling miserable because he somehow couldn’t best two teenagers.

He knew that it wasn’t going to be nearly enough to make up for everything she’s put herself through for him, but he at least figured that he could make this one thing up to her. 

And so, he turned back to her.

“Alright, I’ve decided.” He spoke, but left it at that. 

She raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to go on. “Well?” She questioned with a laugh. “Are you going to tell me.” 

He smirked. “Quite the impatient one, aren’t we?” He teased.

“Well usually when someone starts something-” she walked toward him, stopping once she was mere inches away from him, and let her fan snap open, acting as a barrier between both of their faces. “-they finish them.” She peered up from behind her fan, slightly flirty tone returning once again. 

He smirked, tone matching her’s. “Very well then, I suppose there is no arguing there.” 

He offered out his hand, which she took, and then scooped her up in his arms, her own wrapped around his neck for extra support. 

“Close your eyes.” He had told her, and she obliged, letting her vision be filled with darkness as she let her eyelids droop down. 

She snuggled into her partner’s chest, small smile on her face, as she let him carry her through the air, feeling him hopping on to the edge of each nook and crevice of the Eiffel Tower as he made his way higher. It was quite nice being in this position when she wasn’t slowly dying.

He continued to make his way up, and she couldn’t help but wonder how far up they were going. 

After all, most tourists stopped where they were, the third level. But they were no ordinary tourists, they held miraculouses, and could do stuff that ordinary humans couldn’t. 

Most people in her position would’ve probably felt deathly afraid at this moment, being so high up with no safety or harnesses or anything of the sort, and not to mention being in the arms of a supervillain. 

But Mayura didn’t.

Quite the opposite actually, she actually felt quite relaxed.

Soon, she felt the man holding her land on a solid surface with a thud. 

“You can open your eyes now.” He informed her, gently putting her down as he did. 

She let her eyes flutter open, having to blink a few times to adjust to the blinding lights all twinkling in her face, but once she did, she gasped.

The view from where she stood was _incredible_.

She had never seen anything like it. Sure, the view from the third level of the tower was amazing too, but this? 

This was amazing.

She could see EVERYTHING from up there. Every building, car, and light that existed on the streets that night were in clear view. It was like the whole world was in her hands.

She looked down to observe her surroundings, and sure enough, there she was, on the very top of the Eiffel Tower, with no one but Hawkmoth up there to share it with her.

And that was exactly the way she liked it.

“I take it you like it?” Hawkmoth asked, noticing the astonished look on the woman’s face.

“Are you kidding? This is incredible!” She smiled in return, tone still full of astonishment as she continued to overlook the city. 

He nodded, tone somber. “I know it’s not that different from what you showed me a few levels down, but it was all I could think of at this moment, especially knowing you seemed so infatuated with it too. I know it doesn’t make up for everything, but I at least thought-”

She pulled him into a hug, effectively shutting him up. 

Once she pulled away, she took his hands into hers, smiling up at him.

“I love it. Thank you.” She whispered. 

His facial expression softened at that. “I’m glad.” He spoke back. 

He turned towards the view, taking it in for himself. “Besides, you were right-” he started, before turning back to her. “ _the view is incredible._ ”

  
  


Smiling back at him, eyes full of softness and love, she leaned her head on his shoulder, which he welcomed, and let her vision focus on the view before her, feeling probably the most relaxed she has in a long time.

They stood like that for a while, the cool summer air gently blowing Mayura’s dress back and forth, and making its way past her face, causing the curl at her side to follow its movements. 

She shut her eyes for a moment, taking a breath as she let it all in. 

If only this could last forever. 

Suddenly, a sound from down below snapped her out of her trance. It was quite at first, but then it got louder.

“Do you hear that?” She turned to Hawkmoth, who she noticed, by the look on his face, seemed to have heard it to. 

“I do.” He answered. He scrunched his face slightly in concentration, listening more carefully in order to figure out what exactly the noise was. “It sounds like-”

“ _Music_.” Mayura finished for him.

They both peered over the top to try and sort out where the music was coming from. There was so much city noise that I was a bit hard to tell, but as the music became closer, it became louder, and the louder it became, the easier it was to pinpoint where it was coming from, and sure enough they found their guy.

From down below, they could see what appeared to be a tall, lanky man riding past on a bicycle, loudly playing an accordion as he did so. He continued to circle the area below the tower, as he cheerfully played his music for all the townsfolk passing by, none of which sought to stop for him.

“How unfortunate.” Hawkmoth smiled condescendingly. “A poor, lone music man, with no one to share his talents with.” 

“I can feel his rising negative emotions from here.” Mayura added on, tapping on her miraculous with an equally sinister smirk on her face. “Perfect for a potential akuma or amok.” She paused for a second before speaking again. 

“Would you like me to create the amok?” She asked, hand reaching towards one of the feathers on her fan.

Putting her hand down, he shook his head. “No need for that.” He said.

After all, he had made a mental promise, both to her and himself, that he was going to use the rest of this night to allow both her and him to relax, and he never

_ever_

Broke a promise, no matter what it was.

He was a man of his word after all. 

“Let’s just enjoy the rest of this night.” 

She nodded, making a sound of agreement as she did so, turning back to the view as she did so. Hawkmoth nearly did the same, but then another idea popped up in his head. Sure, they weren’t going to _akumatize_ the man, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t have a bit of fun. “But perhaps we could still do something else.” He inquired, that dark smile back on his face.

She could see the mischief in his eyes, and while she had no idea where he was going with this, she couldn’t help but be intrigued.

“What did you have in mind?” She raised a brow, curious to see what he had to say. 

“I say we give our friend a bit of an...” he tapped his finger on his chin for a moment. “...audience”, he continued. 

“For that little show of his.” 

He didn’t need to say much more before Mayura caught onto what he was trying to convey. 

“Good idea.” She nodded. “I’ll go down and-” she started to make her way off of the tower, only to be stopped by an arm blocking her path.

“Wait-” Hawkmoth warned her. “I don’t want to risk you getting caught, it’s too dangerous to be out in the open.” He glared down.

“Let me go instead.”

“But won’t you get caught too?” She asked, leaving him to think for a few moments. “Hmm-” he pondered. 

How could they get the guys attention without being caught? 

She thought for a couple of seconds, before feeling something tickle her face slightly.

Glancing down at the feathers from her fan grazing against her skin as they blew slightly from the breeze, her eyes lit up.

She had an idea.

“Well-” she started, taking a step back and plucking a feather from her fan. “Perhaps we won’t amokitize the man tonight, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still use one to our advantage.” She suggested, waving the feather between her fingers.

Hawkmoth nodded in agreement, taking a step back as well as he watched his partner work her magic, closing her fist around the feather and corrupting it with her essence. 

She glanced down at the man, still playing his accordion, making sure she had a clear view of the target. Once she did, she sent the feather on its way, gently blowing on it and letting the wind do the rest. 

“Fly away my beautiful amok, and bring my creation to life!” She called out, watching as the feather made its way to their victim.

But it wasn’t the man the amok was heading to, oh no.

It was headed towards _Hawkmoth,_ who made sure to quickly catch it in his cane, and allowed his inner desires to manifest into the giant butterfly creature that has helped them out twice before. 

Perfect.

Mayura looked back down at the man again, making sure he was still there, before sending the sentimonster on its way.

The sentimonster swiftly made its way down, trying to stay discreet and hidden as instructed by Mayura, and the duo watched as it eventually reached the man below, quickly picking him up in its clutches before quickly making its way back up.

“Woah-hey!” The man struggled, having absolutely no idea what was going on. Unfortunately for him, the creature was so fast that no one seemed to notice, especially with everything else going on. “Let me go!!”

It wasn’t too long before the creature reached the top of the tower, and the man was met with Paris’s two villians glaring at him.

“Ahh!” He yelled, struggling even more. “Ladybug he-” he attempted to call out, only to be stopped when the sentimonster holding him wrapped an arm around his mouth, courtesy of Mayura.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” She warned.

“ _Please_.” The man sobbed. “What do you want from me?? Money?? I’ll do anything, just please don’t hurt me!”

“ _Hurt_ you?” Hawkmoth laughed. “Oh no, there will be no hurting tonight.” He tapped his cane on the ground a few times. “Sentimonster, come.” He commanded.

The sentimonster dropped the man on the ground with a thud and made its way over to Hawkmoth.

“The-then-” the man stuttered, looking up at the two villains in fright. “-what do you want from me?” 

They looked at each other, and then back at the man.

“We hear you play music.” Mayura answered matter of factly.

“Huh?” The man asked, still confused and startled as to what was going on, before glancing down at his accordion, suddenly realizing what she meant. 

“Oh! My accordion!” He exclaimed. “But, why do-”

He was cut off by a cane in his face, gulping as he looked up at the tall male villain glaring daggers at him.

“Mayura and I have had a long day-no, a long couple of months.” He explained in a threatening tone. “You are going to play a song for us, and you are going to enjoy it.”

That’s when Mayura stepped in.

“And if you think about telling anyone about this, we won’t hesitate to make sure you pay for it.” 

The man seemed confused. “Wait, hold on.” He started. “You two brought me up here so I could play you...a song?”

They both nodded.

He scratched the back of his head. “Wow.” He sat back. “No one has ever asked me to play something for them before. It’s kind of strange getting my first request from two villains.”

Hawkmoth rolled his eyes.

“Don’t get used to it.”

He sent the sentimonster back over to the man, which picked him up once again, albeit more gently this time, and putting him on its back. The man did as he was told and started playing a song on his accordion for the duo, sentimonster carrying him down a couple of levels to give them some privacy.

Hawkmoth turned back to Mayura, extending his hand out towards her with a smile on his face. 

“Shall we, my dear?” 

Accepting his offer, she smiled back. 

“We shall.”

She let herself be pulled in by him, bodies pressed against each other and faces mere inches apart. They both smiled at one another, before allowing themselves to become one with the music, bodies swaying along with the gentle tune as the silhouettes of the two became engulfed by the pale moonlight.

“Thank you.” Hawkmoth whispered down to the woman he was holding.

“For what?” She asked as she was pulled up from him dipping her. 

“For a lot of things.” He admitted. “But right now, this.” He made a gesture with one of his arms. “You really cheered me up tonight.”

She looked at him fondly.

“Well I suppose I should be thanking you as well.” She began to point out. “It was your idea to come up here in the first place, and not to mention-” she was spun around, “sharing this dance.”

“Hm.” He hummed, pulling her back into his chest. “It was the least I could do.” 

She nodded in understanding. 

“Well, to us, right?” She had asked once again, repeating it for the third time that night.

“To us.” He affirmed with a smile.

And, with that, he gently picked her up by the waist, spinning her around in the air and letting the music and surroundings block everything else out.

_Nothing mattered but them._


End file.
